Mission: In 2014 great shape inc. Continued to expand its services providing education and health care to the very poor and underserved populations of jamaica. In all, great shape! Served over 40,000 children and their families through our three main programs: the 1000 smiles dental project; the superkids literacy project; and the icare vision project. More than 500 great shape! Volunteers from all over the usa, canada and beyond left their homes, jobs and families to provide life changing accesss to health care and education to at-risk youth and substistence families in some of jamaica's poorest communities. The free dental, eye care, and literacy services those volunteers provided, along with donated books, computers, glasses, eye care supplies, dental equipment, dental supplies and much more value at well over $4 million usd. Most of those we help are seeing a dentist, getting an eye exam, sending an email or taking a book home for the first time in their lives! We have thousands of supporter
Programs: The 1000 smiles dental project served 21,300 children and adults. We operated in 18 separate rural clinics across seven parishes of jamaica, providing free dental services such as fillings, sealants, cleanings and extractions. Through the program, we visited 40 schools with a total of 14,500 students providing fun and interactive oral hygience education. We continued to develop a school based preventative oral health program in preparation for a nationwide partnership with the government of jamaica. Because of our work, thousands of children and adults had pain, suffering and humiliation turned into beautiful white healthy smiles of pride and joy. Most of those we help are seeing a dentist for the first time in their lives!
icare vision project: eighty-one optometrists, opticians and helpers provided free eye exams, glasses and referrals for urgent care to nearly 5000 people in 2014 in st elizabeth, st james, westmoreland and st ann. We also provided over 2000 nurse visits for diabetes and hypertension screenings. Thousands of mostly poor rural jamaicans can see again because of our dedicated icare team. Most of those we help are getting an eye exam for the first time in their lives!
superkids literacy project: this is our literacy program, whose primary focus is to improve reading literacy. We worked in thirteen rural schools in the parishes of hanover and westmoreland impacting the lives of over 15,000 children ages 4 to 12. Children in these schools have a literacy rate below 50%. The program incorporated a holistic and multi-faceted approach to improving literacy by:-providing literacy training to jamaican teachers-providing 10,000 reading books that are put in the hands and homes of kids-providing comprehensive computer labs-purchasing school uniforms for the poorest children so they dont miss class-providing music, art and sports supplies for schools to augment the childrens learning experience. In addition, our teach the teachers computer literacy program is a new side project that focuses on computer literacy for teachers who never got that training. Most of those we help are sending an email or taking a book home for the first time in their lives!
Great Shape! Inc. a humanitarian nonprofit in powering children and families of Jamaica in the Caribbean since 1988! 1000 Smiles dental project, SuperKids Literacy Project, Teach the Teachers, iCARE Vision Project! A life changing One Love experience! Over 40,000 people receive free dental care, children and schools receive books, school supplies, and computers, workshops for teachers of Jamaica in language arts, behavior management and computer skills, thousands of people receive free classes, vision test, and even free cataract surgery. Volunteer now you won’t be sorry it’s a wonderful loving sharing caring experience
Great Shape! Inc. always goes above and beyond. The volunteers and leadership team (mostly volunteer, just two paid) are full of integrity, hospitality, and passion. The families we work with in Jamaica are full of joy, gratitude, and collaboration. The Sandals Foundation is full of generosity, kindness, and amazing support & insight. The volunteers work all year 'round to serve more than 40,000 people in Jamaica each year! Really... the experience changed my life and has become my passion. One Love.
